(Hebrews 6:12 KJV) That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

"Do it like they did it - - I will get what they got."

I enjoyed going fishing, hunting and trapping with my father when I was just a young boy. If I do a thing like my father did it or because he did it, then I would expect to get the same results that he got.

I learned a lot just by following along side him and watching how he did certain things. I learned how and where to place various types of traps for the animals we were seeking. I learned how to stalk certain animals when hunting. I learned how to bait my hook, cast the line, and how to look for "signs" that the fish were feeding. As a matter of fact, I learned to do things just like my dad did them. After a period of time and of course with much practice, I began to see the same results that I saw him get. I learned to trap animals, hunt game, and catch fish - just like my dad did. I guess you could say that if I did what he did, I could expect to get what he got. It totally surprised me whenever I didn’t get the same results as he did.

There were times when he would be catching fish and I couldn’t get a strike. Fish after fish, he’d be pulling them in. He’d tell me to place my hook along side his hook. And sure enough, he’d catch one and I wouldn’t get a strike. I questioned him many times what I was doing wrong. He’d jokingly say, "Son you’re not holding your mouth right." Sure enough, I’d look at his mouth and twist and turn my mouth until I felt like mine was exactly like his. Surprise, surprise, I’d catch a fish. (It had nothing to do with my mouth’s position. While contorting my mouth and watching his, I finally kept my hook still long enough for the fish to find it.) But I didn’t know, I thought it was because I did what he did.

Why is it for so long I’ve remained in the dark about this principle when it comes to the things I see in the Bible? Why hadn’t I recognized the principle employed by those who were victorious? It seems quite simple but I’ve made it hard and mysterious. And yet, I read scripture after scripture that says, "God is no respecter of person, God is the same yesterday, today and forever." Those who were victorious in faith received their promise from God totally and completely fulfilled - every time.

I am to imitate them; those who received exactly what they were promised by God or what they knew were their covenant rights as being a child of Abraham. I should learn from those who failed to receive, and avoid their mistakes.

Romans 4.17-18: Abraham patiently endured through all the evidence that contradicted what God had said to him that night on the hillside. "If you, Abram, can calculate the number of the stars in the sky, then I, the Almighty, want you to imagine just how numerous your seed will be. Because as the stars are numerous in the sky, Abram - "So Shall Your Seed Be", God said to him.

With that thought and image in his mind, Abraham was able to outlast all the "childless nights" and "childless images" that were in his tent and in his mind.

Again, I am to do what he did and I will get what he got - The Promised One/Thing.

I don't have to imitate all those who we’ve heard that, "believed God and failed". My faith is in God and not in the people who have followed Him. I’ve learned to, follow another man's faith and not the man. Imitate what and how he believed to get the promise.

You can plug in the following definitions taken from the "Strong’s Dictionary for words the scripture found at the beginning of this article.

SLOTHFUL: Sluggish, i.e. lazy, or (figuratively) stupid -- dull.

FOLLOWERS: An imitator -- follower, (a "mimic").

It’s time for you and me to begin to think and act in the same manner as those of the Bible did when they remained steadfast through persecutions, fears, doubts, and every indication that failure was imminent. They employed steadfast confidence in God’s Word, God’s integrity, and God's faithfulness. Therefore they received the promises of God into their lives.

If you were in Abraham’s shoes in your present day situation and God made a promise to you, how would you fill in the following blank?

" ... so shall thy _____ be")

Now that you answered that question, can you maintain that image in your mind long enough to fight through to the very end when you will see the reality of what has been promised to you?

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